Kidnapped
by Flame Soldier
Summary: A Sky Knight Squadron kidnaps Hamish to get revenge on Mr. Moss. When he finds Hamish missing, Moss is desperate to do anything to find out who did this and to extract his own revenge on them. Unlikely allies team up, and a shocking past is revealed.
1. Chapter 1

**Kidnapped**

**A/N So... I'm a crazy person and I decided to start yet another story, because this idea wouldn't go away... So, here you go. Title subject to change if I can actually think up a better one. Any suggestions?  


* * *

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This wasn't supposed to happen. It was a simple rescue mission... Nothing was supposed to go wrong! His blue eyes narrowed, trying to peer through the darkness. They had already run into one guard and had to kill him. He glanced over at his friend, who had the dead Cyclonian thrown over his shoulder. The man's copper eyes darted round nervously for a second before he spoke.

"What are we going to do, Jax?" The brown haired man bit his lip and shifted the dead guard around for a moment. "If we don't get out of here, we're going to be stuck on Zartacla ourselves."

Jax frowned, running a hand through his teal colored hair. "We can't just leave him here! Not with Moss! That stinking Cyclonian has no right to keep him here! The Rouge Ravens don't leave anyone behind! You should know that by now, Osprey."

"I know, I know... But he's too heavily guarded for us to get at... We were just lucky enough to catch this guy by surprise..."

Jax edged around the corner, nodding in satisfaction when he noticed the hallway was clear. "We can't just let Moss get away with this." He looked back to make sure his friend was following. "We have to at least send him a message."

"We already killed one of his guards," Osprey pointed out. "Isn't that message enough? We should just get out of here..."

"Well, um... There's a problem with that..."

"We're lost, aren't we?"

"Not lost... I've just lost my bearings... Have a little more faith in your sky knight, will ya?" He made his way down the corridor. "I just need to remember exactly which direction we came in from..."

A noise startled them, causing them both to press themselves up against the wall. Footsteps echoed through the desolate hall, coming closer and closer. Finally, the dim outline of a person became visible. They were tall and pretty thin, probably a Talon.

The person came close enough for them to discern his features. He was rather awkward looking, with messy orange hair sticking out from under a hat. He was munching on a cookie as he reached up to open a door.

It was then Jax launched into action. He tackled the Cyclonian, sending them both tumbling into the room. Osprey followed after them, shutting the door behind them and dumping the dead Cyclonian to the floor in case his friend needed help.

Hamish was too shocked to scream at first. He wasn't really sure what was happening. No one had ever attacked him after all. As he finally comprehended what was happening, a hand was clamped firmly over his mouth. He squirmed beneath his attacked, managing to break free and stand up. Before he was able to make a sound, he was tackled again, this time slamming into a bureau, sending the pile of objects on top flying off. He fought back, slamming his weight forward into his attacker, but they quickly recovered, wrestling him to the ground.

Jax knelt on the Cyclonian, keeping one hand clamped to his mouth as he reached for his energy sword. He ignited the deep purple blade, smiling as his prey's eyes widened with fear.

Osprey picked up a framed photograph up off the floor and stared at it for a moment. "Jax, wait."

The sky knight sighed in annoyance. "What is it? We can't show mercy to this Cyclonian scum."

"No, that's not it... I just think he could be more... Useful to us. Look," he showed Jax the picture.

Jax smirked. "Yeah, I think you're right... Help me with him... Grab those sheets off the bed."

Hamish was shaking with fear, and flinched as the sky knight lifted his blade again. But it was only to cut off a strip of the sheet. The hand was removed from his mouth, but immediately something was shoved in their instead; he was pretty sure it was a sock. The sheet was placed in his mouth and tied around the back of his head. He tried to scream through the gag to alert somebody, anybody, to what was going on. Not a single sound escaped however.

The sheets were then tied around his legs, and around his body to prevent him from moving. Satisfied with their work, the two attackers took a step back to admire their handiwork.

"You wanted to send a message to Moss, right?" Osprey asked.

Jax nodded. "I have an idea..."

Hamish's eyes widened even further as the energy blade was taken out again. His entire body shook as the sky knight crouched next to him. He suddenly felt a searing pain on his cheek for a moment before he felt the blood trickling down his face. Eyes rolling back into his head, he fainted.

* * *

"Hamish, why haven't the track beasts been fed yet?" Mr. Moss shouted, stomping down the hallway. Of course, he got no answer. "I'm tellin' ya, boy, if you're still sleepin' you're in a whole mess o' trouble."

He reached Hamish's room and pushed the door open. "Hamish, didn't I tell you to clean your room yesterday? It's a mess in-" He cut himself off and froze, spotting the body on the floor near the bed. He rushed over to it, a sick feeling resting in the pit of his stomach as he turned it over. It was one of the guards; dead.

He could hear his heart beating in his ears. Who ever did this... They didn't kill Hamish, did they? He slowly stood up, trying to keep calm. His eyes fixed on the picture that was resting on the bed.

It was a picture of him and Hamish when Hamish was younger, probably about seven. That wasn't what caught his eye though.

On the bottom of the picture was the word "REVENGE" scrawled in blood.

**A/N What do you think?**


	2. Chapter 2

**Kidnapped Chapter 2**

He came to his senses slowly, his eyes attempting to adjust to the darkness. Panic instantly seized him as he remembered what was going on. Hamish wriggled wildly, trying to get free from his bonds.

"Osprey, the kid's awake." A woman's voice echoed through the darkness. "What did Jax want us to do with him?"

"Beats me," Osprey replied. "I think we're just supposed to keep him alive long enough to freak Moss out before we kill him."

"Oh?"

Hamish could sense someone leaning over him, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't see anything. Suddenly, his world was flooded with light as something was removed from in front of his eyes. He blinked multiple times, trying to get used to the new illumination.

"It's a shame," she commented. "I think he's kinda cute." Hamish turned his head to look at the woman. She had deep purple hair tied in pigtails and crystal blue eyes.

"You think everyone's cute, Alia."

"What's his name?" she asked.

"How am I supposed to know? We just nabbed the brat, we didn't play 20 questions with him," Osprey replied, crossing his arms.

"And how do you even know Moss will care about him being gone?"

"The brat's his son."

"Really?" Alia looked at Hamish with new interest. Reaching over, she removed the gag from his mouth.

He spat the sock out with a gagging noise, but didn't make another sound, staring at them fearfully.

"What's your name?" she asked.

Hamish stared at her, wide-eyed for a few moments before he spoke. "Whaddya want with me?"

"She asked you a question!" Osprey snarled. "Answer her, you brat!"

He let out a squeal as Osprey raised a fist. "Hamish! My name is Hamish!"

"Osprey," Alia scolded. "You don't have to be such a jerk... You're scaring him."

"That was the idea... He's Moss's son, he shares the same evil genes..."

"... Why don't ya like Mr. Moss?" Hamish squeaked, hoping the guy wouldn't hit him for it.

He didn't answer, instead asking, "Why do you call your father Mr. Moss?"

"Mr. Moss says that he's a wantin' me ta act like the other Cyclonians," he replied, afraid not to answer. "Says he shouldn' be a treatin' me any different than the guards."

"Hmph. Should've expected Moss to be a jerk to his son."

"He ain't a jerk!" He protested, the look like he regretted it immediately as Osprey raised his fist.

"What can you tell us about Moss?" Alia asked calmly, trying to put Hamish at ease; they could get more information from him that way.

Hamish suddenly clammed up, realizing that it probably wouldn't be a good thing to tell them what they wanted to know.

"Talk!"

"I... I ain't tellin' ya anythane!" He blurted out, instantly recoiling as he was smacked across the face. Tears of pain filled his eyes and he swallowed, trying to control his fear. He was just the kid who fed the track beasts! Why did this have to happen to him?

"We'll see if you remain so quite when Jax gets back," Osprey hissed, eyes narrowing. "He'll know how to put you in your place."

* * *

"Git those track beasts out there!" Moss shouted, storming though the prison. "If they're anywhere on this terra, I want 'em found! Now! They ain't gettin' away with this!"

The guards were scrambling to get Mr. Moss's orders completed. It seemed every second he would come up with a new order for them.

"What if they ain't on the terra, sir?" One of the Cyclonians finally asked.

"Then we'll go a searchin' someplace else!" he exclaimed. "We'll tear the whole Atmos up lookin' for those creeps! No one kills my guards and kidnaps my son and gits away with it!"

"But Master Cyclonis said that we're not supposed to leave Zartacla after what happened the last time..."

Moss scowled and ground his teeth. "Now I know you wouldn't be trying to contradict my orders, ain't that right?"

"Of course not, sir!" he exclaimed.

"Good. Now you run along and get Bessie ready. I'm a goin' to find my boy... And the ones who did this? Well, they're going to be in a whole mess o' trouble.."


	3. Chapter 3

**Kidnapped Chapter 3**

Jax strolled onto the bridge casually, like there was nothing wrong and that it was completely normal to have bound Cyclonian dumped on the floor. He strolled over to the couch and sat down, kicking off his boots and resting his feet on the coffee table. Osprey and Alia looked up at him from their kneeling position beside Hamish expectantly. When he didn't make a move, Osprey spoke up.

"Jax? Aren't you going to do something?"

"What? Oh- him." Sighing, the sky knight stood up and walked over to him with a sigh. "You."

Hamish looked up at him with wide eyes.

Jax knelt beside him and placed two fingers on his cheek, tracing the cut on it. The boy shuddered, trying to squirm away."What's wrong, brat? You scared? Well let me tell you something..." He drew his energy blade and ignited it. "I don't care. In fact..." He grinned. "I think I kinda like it. Now, you're going to answer some of my questions, got it?"

Wordlessly, he nodded, fearful eyes drawn to the glowing purple blade.

"Good... Now tell me, what's Moss to you?"

"He's mah boss."

The sky knight slammed a hand on his back to stop the Cyclonian's squirming. "That's not all, is it? There's more... I know it." He brought the blade closer to his face. "Now you might want to tell me before I give you a scar to match the one of the other cheek."

Hamish looked too frightened to speak, and he began shaking uncontrollably. Feeling a stab of pity for him, Osprey spoke up. "He's your father, isn't he?"

Jax glared at him reproachfully. "Let him answer the questions himself." He applied firm pressure to the Cyclonian's back causing the air in his lungs to exit with a huff. "Speak. Now."

Hamish gulped down air to catch his breath before speaking in a shaky voice. "H-he... He ain't mah r-real pa."

The sky knight looked surprised. "What?" He eased up on the pressure on his back for a moment. "Explain."

The Cyclonian looked as if he was off in another world, but as the pressure in his back increased to a painful level, he was brought back. "I'm adopted."

"Moss... Adopted you? Why would he do that? He's too selfish to do something like that! Explain!"

"There ain't nothin' to explain!" Hamish's voice suddenly took a defiant tone... or was it a defensive one? Jax couldn't really tell either way, he decided to smack him for it.

His defiant gaze instantly vanished. "What... What're ya gonna do with me?"

"What do you think?"

"Are you gonna... gonna k-ki..." He trailed off, not wanting to finish the word.

"Hmm... You know... I'm not actually sure..."

"Maybe we could make a deal with Moss," Alia suggested. "We could trade him the boy for the release of Dolkhov."

"We could... Or we could double cross that deal." Jax smirked. "It'd serve that Moss right..." He looked down at Hamish to see the boy's eyes half glazed over, as if he were in his own little world again. He raised his hand to smack him, but let it fall to his side. "Osprey, why don't you lock the kid in a closet or something? It's things like this that make me regret not buying a ship with a brig on it."

"Alright..." Osprey picked Hamish up with a grunt and threw him over his shoulder before tottering off.

Jax watched him go before turning toward Alia, who was glaring at him. "What?"

"Must you be so cruel to him?" she demanded. "He's just a boy."

"He's the enemy, Alia, don't you forget that," he replied sternly. "He was raised by the same man who imprisoned Dolkhov."

"I know you have a grudge against Moss, but it isn't right to take it out on his kid... Is that what they taught you to do during your sky knight trials? To pick on the sons of your enemies?"

"Don't talk about the trials," Jax hissed viciously. "You know I don't want to think about those."

Alia looked startled. "Sorry... I forgot..." There was a tense silence in the air before she thought of something else to say. "Moss adopting a son... Doesn't seem very likely, does it? Think he was lying?"

The sky knight seemed to calm down as she brought up the Cyconian. "I don't see why he would. Then again, I don't see why he would get so defensive either..." His eyes narrowed slightly. "Well, if it's anything important, I'll wring the truth out of him before the end."

* * *

"Where're we goin' boss?" The Cyclonian on the skimmer beside him asked.

"Ta find Hamish, you twit!" Mr. Moss snapped, eyes narrowing slightly as he scanned the sky as if that would give him a clue where to look.

"Uh.... I meant where're we gonna find 'im?"

He didn't reply, scowling. He didn't have a clue who took Hamish, or even where to start looking for clues. "I'll think of somethin'," he decided after awhile. He squinted into the sky as if the answers would be written in the clouds. He squinted further as he spotted a dark splotch inn the distance. "Say... What's that?" He headed in that direction, his guards right behind him. He scowled as the Condor came into view. "Storm Hawks!" His mind flashed to Aerrow for a moment. Would that boy have something to do with this? His eyes flared up with rage. Of course they did. Those brats were always messing up something... "Boys, we got ourselves some investigatin' to do!"

Snapping his energy whip in the air, Moss flew in towards the Condor, ready to release hell's fury upon them.


	4. Chapter 4

**Kidnapped Chapter 4**

Osprey gently lowered Hamish to the floor of the dark room. "Now, I'm going to untie your legs, but only if you don't kick me, okay?"

Hamish nodded silently; he wouldn't have had the courage to do such a thing anyway. He felt his legs being untied and could feel the circulation returning to them. As his stomach growled, he looked up at the man standing over him.

"I'd get you something to eat, but... That would upset Jax." He looked apologetically at him before backing out of the room and closing the door, leaving him in complete darkness.

"This ain't right," he said aloud, even when there was no one to hear him. "I never did anythane ta hurt anyone. Why's someun doin' this ta me?" And why were they so interested in Mr. Moss? It was none of their business what had happened to him in the past... It had been so long now, he barely remembered it anyway...

_Hamish tried to make himself as small as possible as he squeezed into the cupboard. His breath was shaking as he heard the sounds of the men outside. He wanted his ma real bad..._

_He let out a squeal as something slammed against the side of the cupboard. He tried making himself even smaller as the sound of snarls reached his ears. He let out a shriek as a paw slammed through the wood, sending splinters everywhere. Why were those things attacking him? Where was his ma?_

_Another paw slammed through, but suddenly all was silent as a single voice called out a command. "Well, well, well, let's just see what we have here. Looks like we've got ourselves a live one..." The door to the cupboard was opened, and the man peered in and frowned. "You ain't a murderer."_

_"Where's my ma?" Hamish demanded, tears coming to his eyes._

_The man closed his eyes and sighed. "She hadda son... Boy, you're gonna hafta come with me."_

_"No! Where's my ma?"_

_"She ain't around any more..."_

_

* * *

_"Storm Hawks!" Moss shouted. "Ya'll better be ready ta tell me where my boy is!" He snapped his whip into the air as the Storm Hawks' skimmers rushed towards him. Without waiting for them to reply, he snapped his whip again, sending a buzz saw of energy at them.

Aerrow rolled his skimmer out of the way before igniting his blue blades. "What do you want Moss? Here to butt kicked again?"

"I'm here so you can tell me where Hamish is! What'd you do ta him?" His eyes narrowed as he brought back his whip again as if to strike, but let it hang in the air, waiting for his reply.

"What are you talking about?" the sky knight demanded.

"No use playing dumb, boy. I know ya'll kidnapped my son! Yer the only ones that've broken _in_ ta Zartacla before!"

"Your... Son?" Aerrow blinked, confused. "Hamish is your SON? And someone kidnapped him? Who would do that? That doesn't make sense..."

"You would do that, you no good sky knight!" Moss slashed his whip out, causing Aerrow to roll his skimmer to the side.

"Now wait a minute, Moss. Why would _I_ kidnap Hamish?"

"Revenge," he hissed. "For that time I arrested ya." He slashed his whip at Piper, causing her to pull her heliscooter backwards.

"We wouldn't do anything like that!" Piper exclaimed.

"Yeah! We're the good guys!" Junko put it.

"A likely story," he hissed. "If ya'll didn't, who did? Who would take him and leave me a message written in his own blood?"

"Dude, that's gross! We wouldn't do that!" Finn exclaimed. He had his crossbow trained on him, eying the angry Cyclonian nervously.

Aerrow looked into Moss's face and frowned as he saw the worry and sorrow looming behind the anger. Despite their previous encounters, the sky knight couldn't help but feel a stab of pity for the man. He frowned and thought for a moment before making his decision. "We'll help you find the ones that took him."

"... We will?" the others all asked at once.

The sky knight nodded. "Who ever did this did evil and its our job to stop it!... If you'll let us that is," he added to Moss.

Moss stared at him for a moment. "... I'll let you help... But only for Hamish's sake. We'll go back to bein' enemies the moment we find him."

"Wouldn't have it any other way."


	5. Chapter 5

**Kidnapped Chapter 5**

To say that the atmosphere of the room was odd was a severe understatement. The Cyclonians stayed one one end of the table, the Storm Hawks at the other end, both sides eying each other warily. Their hands all remained on their weapons, neither side truly trusting the other.

"Alright, Mr. Moss," Aerrow shifted uncomfortably as everyone in the room shifted their gazes to him when he broke the tense silence. "You need to tell us everything."

"They're ain't much to tell," Moss replied, taking his hand off his energy whip. His men followed his example, easing the tension of the room slightly. "Alls I found was a dead guard, and that note. There were signs of a struggle, but only a short one- Hamish never was much of a fighter."

"Well, who would want revenge on you?" Piper asked.

He eyed her for a moment. "Ya really needed ta ask that? And here I was thinkin' that you were the smart one."

"But there has to be some people that would want revenge on you more than usual, right?" she persisted. "Maybe friends of someone in your prison right now?"

"Why wouldn't they just break 'em out then? No need to get Hamish involved."

"You have to have at least something for us to go on," Aerrow said. "How do you expect us to find Hamish without any information?"

Moss sighed. "Well there ain't much to go on... 'Cept maybe..." He paused to think. "I have a feelin' that it was a sky knight."

"What? No way!" Aerrow exclaimed. "There's no way a sky knight would do anything like this!"

"Well it sure as hell wasn't a Cyclonian," Moss shot back. "There ain't many options left after that."

"What makes you think it was a sky knight?" Piper finally asked after a few moments of tense silence.

"The guard they killed," he answered. "The wounds were caused by an energy blade. Not only that, but it sure ain't easy breakin' _in _ta Zartacla."

"... He has a point you know," Finn said quietly, eying the Cyclonians across the table warily. Why had Aerrow invited them onto the Condor? Was he insane?

"Then the next logical question is: Which Sky Knight squadrons have you crossed?"

"All o' them. From the Absolute Zeros to the Rex Guardians. There ain't a single squadron I haven't crossed. I do my job well," Moss replied, smiling slightly in pride.

"Well that's helpful," Finn muttered sarcastically.

"So what do we do?" Piper asked. "Find a list of every squadron in the Atmos and find them all?"

"Got any better ideas?" Moss asked, eying her. "Yer the ones who offered ta help."

She let out a sigh of annoyance. "I'll go find that list..."

"Alright, while you do that, we'll try to come up with a better way," Aerrow said. He watched as Piper left the room, then turned his gaze to Moss. "Don't worry, we'll find him."

"Hmph. I don't need yer pity, Sky Knight."

* * *

"Hamish, I've brought you some food..."

The Cyclonian opened an eye slowly and eyed her blearily for a moment before opening the other one. Alia was kneeling in font of him, a plateful of food in her hands. His stomach growled and his mouth began watering as the scent of fried chicken reached him. "Thanks," he mumbled.

The girl untied him, allowing him to sit up and rub his arms. "I'm sorry," she said quietly.

Hamish stared at her for a few moments, then began eating, unable to control his hunger any longer.

She seemed disturbed at his lack of reaction, so she began again. "I know it's wrong to keep you here, but... well, no one around here has the guts to stand up to Jax... He's..."

"Scary," he finished through a mouthful of chicken. He didn't say anything else. This was how he usually was- Mr. Moss usually did all the talking, but Alia seemed to take it as a sign of his displeasure.

"I don't think Jax is really going to kill you, you know," she said.

Hamish finished eating and pulled his knees to his chest. "He's gonna let me go?"

"Well... Eventually... I think so... At least.... No, probably not."

"Then why are ya sayin' that he's not gonna kill me?"

"Well it wouldn't be so bad to stay with us for a while, would it?" She asked him.

"Ya want me ta live in a closet forever?" He asked, blinking. When she didn't reply, he continued. " 'Sides, Mr. Moss is gonna come save me anyhow. Won't be here much longer..."

Alia winced. "Moss coming to get you is exactly what Jax wants, you know. He wants to kill him, Hamish."

Hamish stared at her for a long while, puzzling things out. What was he supposed to do? Mr. Moss was always there to tell him what to do before, but now... "Why're ya tellin' me all this? Ain't nothin' I can do 'bout it! I'm jus' stuck here while all this happens! No uns here that's gonna tell me what to do!"

"I'm telling you because... Because I know this is wrong!" Tears came to her eyes. "Ever since Jax had a run in with Moss, he's changed! He never used to be like this, I promise you!"

"Uh... Don't cry..." He patted her back awkwardly. Wasn't she supposed to be an enemy?

"I want to help you, but I'm scared! What do I do?"

"Uh... Lemme escape?"

She stared at him, sorely tempted, but she shook her head. "No... Jax would kill me." She got up and walked out without another word.

Hamish stared after her for a few moments, confused, then blinked. "Women... Don't make much sense, do they?"

* * *

Jax found himself entering the closet where the Cyclonian was kept. The kid looked up at him fearfully as he entered, but Jax didn't say a word, just staring at him coldly for a minute.

"Someone untied you. Probably Alia. She's always been a bleeding heart."

Hamish didn't reply, just staring up at him with wide eyes.

"You're lucky you're not dead you know. It's what you deserve. I was in that prison of yours once... For a whole year, 'till I was exchanged for some Cyclonians. And you know what?" He continued on when he saw that Hamish wasn't about to say anything. "That experience made me kind of bitter. So if you think you and Moss are going to walk away from this alive, I suggest you take a reality check."

Without another word, he turned and strode from the room, Hamish just staring after him, his face a mixture of fear and puzzlement.

**A/N I'd like to thank everyone who's reviewed so far. I hope I'm doing okay with Hamish's character. We don't really know much about him... He's had like... 4 lines in the entire series.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Kidnapped: Chapter 6**

**A/n: Sorry this took me so long to update. Dx**

Moss crossed his arms, watching as the Storm Hawks and his men combed through list after list of Sky Knight squadrons, both retired and in service. He didn't know what good looking at a list of names would do, but apprently it ws doing something, because Piper was periodically crossing the names off the list.

"Murk Raiders," Aerrow said suddenly.

"What now?" Moss stirred from his place to look over at the Sky Knight.

"What if the Murk Raiders took him? That sounds like something they'd do... You've probably arrested some, right?"

"So you think they're the ones who did it?"

"Makes more sense than the Sky Knights," Aerrow replied with a nod.

"Zartacla's an awful far way away from Terra Deep," the Cyclonian replied pensively."Have there been any sightin's of 'em?"

"Not that I know of..."

"Well, we'll add the ta the list o' suspects, but we can't jus' assume they're the uns who did it."

"We need to have a better way of figuring this out," Piper decided. "We've only narrowed it down to twenty squadrons- and that won't do any good if he wasn't actually taken by a Sky Knight!"

"Well what else can we do?" Moss demanded. "I was gonna search every terra and ship I found, but you probably wouldn't like that either!"

"No," she admitted. "I wouldn't..." She was quiet a few moments. "Did Hamish make any enemies?"

"Hamish? Naw, it's impossible ta hate the boy.... Even the pris'ners liked 'im," the warden replied. "He's jus' too... Hamish-like..." He furrowed his brow for a moment, thinking. "But there was... Naw, probably not... They wouldn't know who he was any more...."

"What?" Piper asked, staring at him intently.

"Jus' this Sky Knight that killed Hamish's ma fifteen years ago... Never found out why he did it... Could've had a grudge against the family, but there's no way they could possibly know who he was or that he was on Zartacla."

"Well? Who was it? Maybe they could have figured it out somehow! What squadron was he from?"

"I don' remember the squadron," he admitted. "But I remember the boy's name... Jack... No wait... Jax, that was it. Jax."

"A Sky Knight? Killing a kid's mom? I don't believe it!" Aerrow exclaimed.

"Believe it son," Moss countered. "Because it happened. Not everyone you freed on Zartacla were political pris'ners, you know. There were murderers, thieves, and the rest o' that sort of trash... Course Jax wasn' one o' those... He only served a year of his sentence before being exchanged for Cyclonian pris'ners... Despite my objections..."

The Sky Knight shook his head, still obviously disbelieving.

"Peh, fine. Don't believe me, boy. It's the truth either way..." He sighed, closing his eyes as he thought about that day.

* * *

Hamish stared after Jax, frowning. What was that guys problem? Why was he so against him and Mr. Moss? He never did anything to anyone, and yet, there he was, locked in a closet.

Saying that he was out of his element was an understatement. He had always relied on Mr. Moss to tell him what to do, but now... It made him feel insecure, that was for sure...

"I can't jus' sit around doin' nothin'!" he told himself sternly. "I need to git out of here!" But how? What could he possibly do to escape? It's not like they just left the door unlocked, right? Standing up, he stretched his muscles before walking over to the door. He pressed his ear to the door, listening as the Sky Knight's footsteps faded away. Well, he might as well try the door. Shrugging, he put his hand on the doorknob.

The door opened. "What in Sam's hill...?" Was this some sort of trap? Did Jax really forget to lock the door?

Hamish hesitated, trying to think of what to do. What would Mr. Moss tell him to do? He closed his eyes, trying to heard the warden's rough voice in his head.

_"Hamish! What in the Atmos are you doin' jus' standin' there? You got ta get outta there and clean those Occucrow cages!"_

At this, Hamish frowned. "Now that ain't fair, Mr. Moss! Cain't I have a day off after bein' kidnapped and all?"

_"Those cages ain't goin' to clean themselves, Hamish. Ya might want ta feed them there trackbeasts after you get back to... They're gettin' kinda ornery..." What are you waitin' for? Go!"_

"Yes sir, Mister Moss, sir!" He saluted before running out of the closet. Running blindly, he ran through twisted corridors, hoping to find the skimmer bay. When he finally did so, he hesitated; how did skimmers work? He never flew one before... He wasn't allowed within fifty feet of Bessie. Deciding he would just have to chance it, he mounted the skimmer and turned it on. Trying to remember how Mr. Moss flew, Hamish took off, hoping he wasn't going to crash.

In the corner of the skimmer bay, Alia smiled. "Good luck, Hamish."

* * *

"ALIA!" Jax roared.

She winced, then turned to face the angry Sky Knight.

"Where the hell is Hamish?"

"The closet, isn't he?" she asked, trying to keep her nerves from her voice.

"No, he's not! _Someone _helped him escape!" He brought up his hand and back handed her across the face, eyes smoldering with rage. She fell to the ground, letting out a small cry.

"Jax! What the hell are you doing?" Osprey demanded, springing forward.

The Sky Knight's rage suddenly vanished, and he looked horrified at his own actions. "Alia... I'm sorry... I was just angry..." He offered her his hand.

She flinched away from it, but then took it. "I... I understand, Jax..."

"Good... Now you stay here. Osprey and I are going to hunt that brat down. And when we find him?" He smirked and drew his energy blade. "We're going to teach him a lesson."

* * *

Hamish gritted his teeth, fighting against the turbulence. Why was he doing this? He didn't know where he was, or how to fly properly... Why didn't he just wait for Mr. Moss to come rescue him? It probably would have been smarter...

But when did he ever do the smart thing?

His eyes widened as another strong wind blew his skimmer asunder. He was losing control and had no idea how to gain it back! He let out a scream as his skimmer hurdled into the terra below, vision fading away into nothingness.

His vision returned as he was aware of himself on the ground, a sharp pain in his side. The last thing he could recognize was a dark shape leaning over him before his vision faded away again.

**A/N Oooh, who is that dark shape? Any guesses?**


	7. Chapter 7

**Kidnapped: Chapter 7**

"We've received confirmation that the Murk Raiders haven't set foot in Zartacla in months," Piper said, walking into the room. "Captain Scabulous was confronted by the Rex Guardians on the day Hamish went missing."

"Did they catch him?" Aerrow asked.

"No," she replied. "But Harrier said the Murk Raiders' ship was badly damaged- there's no way that they could have made it to Zartacla in that kind of shape..."

The sky knight sighed. "So that puts us back to square one..."

"Not exactly," Moss replied. "That crosses one suspect off our list."

"Yes, but there's still twenty more!" she exclaimed.

"Well you cain't always have it easy," he replied. "Sometimes ya just have ta follow every lead 'till ya find the truth... Why don't you just start with a Sky Knight that's been known ta be ruthless before?"

Aerrow frowned. "Because I don't believe that this Jax guy really killed someone."

"Why not? You ever meet the guy?"

"Well.. No, but... He's a Sky Knight!"

"So was Carver," Moss pointed out. "And we all know what happened with him, don't we?"

"I... I guess you're right," he decided. He picked up the list of squadrons and began flipping through the pages. When he found the name he was looking for he nodded, then looked to Piper. "We need to find the Rouge Ravens."

* * *

"Are you alright?"

"Euuuugh?" Hamish allowed himself to open his eyes slowly. He blinked, and sitting up turned to look at the person who had spoken. She was leaning toward him, a concerned expression on her face. He stared at her a few moments, his mind working even more slowly than usual. "Yer real pretty, ya know that?"

That rocked her back on her heels, an annoyed expression coming across her face. "I'm going to assume that your mind isn't working properly from that skimmer crash... But if you keep talking like that, you'll wish I didn't find you."

He stared at her a few moments, a blush crawling across his face. "Sorry, ma'am..."

"You're actually quite lucky... I don't often help Cyclonians... I guess the Storm Hawks must be getting to me," she admitted shifting to sit cross-legged across from him.

"Storm Hawks?" Hamish blinked, thinking back to Mr. Moss's hatred of them. So did that mean... Was this woman a Sky Knight. "Who're ya?"

"My name is Starling... Sky Knight... And you?"

"Starlin'?" he echoed. He had heard the name before. "You famous?"

"I suppose people have heard of me," she admitted. "But you still haven't answered my question."

"Eh? Oh, right. Hamish. Name's Hamish."

"Alright... Well, Hamish. It looks like you're fine, so I should really be leaving now..." She got up, ready to leave.

Hamish shook his head. "Wait!" he called. "I need ta find Mr. Moss!"

Starling stared at him for a few moments. "Do you know where you are?"

"Nome."

"Do you have any idea where this Mr. Moss might be?"

"Zartacla, ma'am."

Her eyes widened a fraction. "You're from Zartacla? How did you get way out here?"

"I was kidnapped, ma'am," Hamish replied, glancing down to the ground. "Tha's how I got this." His fingers rested on the scar on the side of his face for a brief moment.

"Kidnapped? By whom?"

"A Sky Knight," he replied. "Named Jax."

"A Sky Knight? Impossible!" she replied incredulously. "No Sky Knight would sink that low..."

"Well I ain't lyin'."

Starling frowned, taking that into consideration. She decided it would be best not to dwell on the issue. "Zartacla... This Mr. Moss... Is he a guard there?"

"The warden," Hamish corrected.

She winced. Of course he had to be... "Lovely... So you're a guard there?"

"Animal caretaker," he corrected once again. "... Can ya help me git back?"

"Back to Zartacla?" She hesitated again before shaking her head. "I can't go to Zartacla. Sky Knights aren't exactly welcome there, now are they?"

"But I got ta git back!"

Starling sighed, looking at the pleading look in his eyes. "Your skimmer isn't too badly damaged. Just fly back."

"But... I dunno how ta fly. Tha's why I crashed." Hamish stood up and took a step toward her. "I ain't got a way ta get back... I dunno where Zartacla even is! I know yer a Sky Knight, but... Can ya please help me?"

She let out another sigh. "I thought it was strange that you crashed when there was no battle around... If you can't fly... I suppose I should at least get you to someone else who'll help you."

He grinned. "Tahnk you, ma'am!"

She shook her head. "To think that I'm helping a Cyclonian... The Sky Knight Council would throw a fit at me..." She mounted her skimmer, then motioned for Hamish to get on. "Well come on. Let's go..."

Nodding, Hamish got on behind her before Starling took off. Startled, Hamish grabbed onto her before he fell off. It wasn't long before they cleared the trees, revealing the clear blue sky. An instant later, he noticed two skimmers flying toward them. His arms tightened around her, causing a quizzical glance to be thrown his way.

"Th-that's them," he clarified. "They're the uns who kidnapped me..."


End file.
